American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

It’s large size, distinct colours, and large, pouch-like bill, make the American White Pelican an
unmistakable bird while flying or swimming.

Habitat

Look for American White Pelicans in west-central North America in summer, in northern Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and far west Ontario, as well as a few western states. In winter they favour coastal bays, inlets, estuaries, and sloughs in the southern United States, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

You can find American White Pelicans at Oak Hammock Marsh!

Food

Pelicans eat mostly small fish, such as minnows, carp, and suckers. Salamanders, tadpoles, and crayfish are also eaten. What they eat changes with water levels.

Behaviour

Nesting takes place on isolated permanent islands in large freshwater lakes or sometimes on temporary islands in shallow wetlands. However, they will travel 48 kilometers (30 miles) or more from nesting areas to other lakes, rivers, and wetlands to feed. American White Pelicans most often hunt in groups, working together to circle a school of small fish and then gulping them up together with their large bills. After, they lift their heads to drain the water and keep the fish. This is called cooperative feeding. In the sky, they fly in groups, forming long lines or V-shapes, soaring on wings that can span 2.75 metres (9 feet).

Conservation

Past thinking was that pelicans competed with people for fish, so their nest needed to be destroyed or adults shot. Studies revealed that pelicans mostly eat fish of little value to people and since the 1960s numbers have grown to healthy levels. However, pelicans are still sensitive to nest disturbance by humans and losing feeding areas to wetland loss.

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